Tick Control

     Ticks can carry the pathogens for ten human diseases and spread illnesses such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Anaplasmosis. These diseases are major health concerns, reinforcing the need to prevent tick bites. Ticks are among the most efficient carriers of disease because they attach firmly when sucking blood, feed slowly and may go unnoticed for a considerable amount of time while feeding. Pet owners and parents alike should be concerned with tick prevention because a tick bite can have serious implications for children and pets. Five of the ten diseases ticks transmit to humans can be transmitted to pets. That is why keeping everyone around your household tick-free is important.
     It’s important to understand the life cycle of a tick and where they lay their eggs so you can help prevent a tick infestation in your yard. The tick goes through four separate stages of its life cycle: eggs, larva, nymph and adult. Each of these stages can easily be recognized by its special appearance.

What Does a Tick Nest Look Like?

     Unlike other social insects such as ants and bees, ticks do not form a communal colony like a hive or nest. Ticks are more likely to crawl into the burrow or hole of a potential host and lay their eggs there, creating a small, lone “nest.” This provides immediate access to a potential host to which the larvae can latch to and feed upon. Ticks may also opt to lay eggs in leaf litter or grassy areas and, in general, any location that is soft and warm.

What Do Tick Eggs Look Like?

     Since a female tick is capable of laying thousands of eggs at once, these eggs are often easier to spot than the ticks themselves. They appear brownish-red in color and are translucent. A brood of eggs may look like miniature caviar. The eggs are not yet infectious and can be dealt with by simply coating with salt to dry out the eggs.

Application of Treatment

     To eliminate ticks, we offer two levels of service. Our traditional mosquito Surface/barrier Which is applied across the entire area instead of around the perimeter like is done while targeting mosquitoes,
     For more comprehensive tick control, we offer an additional tick tube treatment service in which we place tick tubes around your property to entice mice. Mosquito Control of Iowa controls ticks with tick tubes that rely on the natural nesting instincts of mice and deliver a tick controlling insecticide directly to its home. Tick tubes are made of biodegradable tubes with treated cotton inside. When placed in their environment, mice collect the cotton for bedding. Since most ticks get their first blood meals from mice, they are exposed to the treated cotton, which effectively eliminates ticks.

The Life Cycle of a Tick

Stage 1: Eggs      After feeding through some of the winter months and spring, adult females will lay their eggs in protected areas of grass. They can lay over a thousand eggs in their lifetime, and the eggs will normally hatch by summer.

Stage 2: Larvae

     Once hatched, the larvae begin searching for a host to feed on. They wait on the tops of leaves and tall grass where pet and human activity are normally high.

Stage 3: Nymph

     Once the larvae have eaten, they will drop off the host and transform into an eight-legged nymph. The process will then repeat itself where they look for a host. The nymph may also transmit disease.

Stage 4: Adult

     Adult ticks will then go for a third quest, looking for a larger host. Successful adult ticks reproduce during the fall, and the female tick will survive through winter to lay more eggs in the spring. This entire process can take up to three years.

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